Integration of Services for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse at the University Teaching Hospital One-Stop Centre

"Objective. To improve care of sexually abused children by establishment of a ""One Stop Centre"" at the University Teaching Hospital. Methodology. Prior to opening of the One Stop Centre; a management team comprising of clinical departmental heads and a technical group of professionals (health workers; police; psychosocial counselors lawyers and media) were put in place. The team evaluated and identified gaps and weaknesses on the management of sexually abused children prevailing in Zambia. A manual was produced which would be used to train all professionals manning a One Stop Centre. A team of consultants from abroad were identified to offer need based training activities and a database was developed. Results. A multidisciplinary team comprising of health workers; police and psychosocial counselors now man the centre. The centre is assisted by lawyers as and when required. UTH is offering training to other areas of the country to establish similar services by using a Trainer of Trainers model. A comprehensive database has been established for Lusaka province. Conclusion. For establishment of a One Stop Centre; there needs to be a core group comprising of managers as well as a technical team committed to the management and protection of sexually abused children."

Integration of services for victims of child sexual abuse at the university teaching hospital one-stop centre.

Objective. To improve care of sexually abused children by establishment of a "One Stop Centre" at the University Teaching Hospital. Methodology. Prior to opening of the One Stop Centre, a management team comprising of clinical departmental heads and a technical group of professionals (health workers, police, psychosocial counselors lawyers and media) were put in place. The team evaluated and identified gaps and weaknesses on the management of sexually abused children prevailing in Zambia. A manual was produced which would be used to train all professionals manning a One Stop Centre. A team of consultants from abroad were identified to offer need based training activities and a database was developed. Results. A multidisciplinary team comprising of health workers, police and psychosocial counselors now man the centre. The centre is assisted by lawyers as and when required. UTH is offering training to other areas of the country to establish similar services by using a Trainer of Trainers model. A comprehensive database has been established for Lusaka province. Conclusion. For establishment of a One Stop Centre, there needs to be a core group comprising of managers as well as a technical team committed to the management and protection of sexually abused children.

HIV prevention is not enough: child survival in the context of prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.

Clinical and epidemiologic research has identified increasingly effective interventions to reduce mother to child HIV transmission in resource-limited settings These scientific breakthroughs have been implemented in some programmes, although much remains to be done to improve coverage and quality of these programmes. But prevention of HIV transmission is not enough. It is necessary also to consider ways to improve maternal health and protect child survival.A win-win approach is to ensure that all pregnant and lactating women with CD4 counts of <350 cells/mm3 have access to antiretroviral therapy. On its own, this approach will substantially improve maternal health and markedly reduce mother to child HIV transmission during pregnancy and delivery and through breastfeeding. This approach can be combined with additional interventions for women with higher CD4 counts, either extended prophylaxis to infants or extended regimens of antiretroviral drugs to women, to reduce transmission even further.Attempts to encourage women to abstain from all breastfeeding or to shorten the optimal duration of breastfeeding have led to increases in mortality among both uninfected and infected children. A better approach is to support breastfeeding while strengthening programmes to provide antiretroviral therapy for pregnant and lactating women who need it and offering antiretroviral drug interventions through the duration of breastfeeding. This will lead to reduced HIV transmission and will protect the health of women without compromising the health and well-being of infants and young children.

Hiv-specific secretory IgA in breast milk of HIV-positive mothers is not associated with protection against HIV transmission among breast-fed infants.

OBJECTIVES: To test whether secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigens in breast milk of HIV-positive women is associated with protection against HIV transmission among breast-fed infants. STUDY DESIGN: Nested, case-control design in which HIV-specific sIgA was measured in breast milk collected from 90 HIV-positive women enrolled in a study in Lusaka, Zambia. Milk samples were selected to include 26 HIV-positive mothers with infected infants (transmitters) and 64 mothers with uninfected infants (nontransmitters). RESULTS: HIV-specific sIgA was detected more often in breast milk of transmitting mothers (76.9%) than in breast milk of nontransmitting mothers (46.9%, P = .009). There were no significant associations between HIV-specific sIgA in breast milk and other maternal factors, including HIV RNA quantities in breast milk, CD4 count, and plasma RNA quantities. CONCLUSIONS: HIV-specific sIgA in breast milk does not appear to be a protective factor against HIV transmission among breast-fed infants.